[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 143 (Thursday, July 25, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48603-48604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-18857]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 071202A]
RIN 0648-AP41


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment 5 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery off 
the Southern Atlantic States

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the South Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 5 to the Fishery Management 
Plan for the Shrimp Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States (FMP). 
This amendment would establish a limited access program for the rock 
shrimp fishery in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Georgia and off 
the east coast of Florida (limited access area), establish a minimum 
mesh size for a rock shrimp trawl net in the limited access area, 
require the use of an approved vessel monitoring system (VMS) by 
vessels participating in the limited access program, and require an 
operator of a vessel in the rock shrimp fishery in the EEZ off the 
southern Atlantic states (North Carolina through the east coast of 
Florida) to have an operator permit. The intended effects are to 
minimize additional increases in harvesting capacity in the rock shrimp 
fishery; reduce the harvest of small, unmarketable rock shrimp; enhance 
compliance with fishery management regulations; improve protection of 
essential fish habitat, including an area that contains the last 20 
acres of intact Oculina coral remaining in the world; and ensure the 
long-term economic viability of the rock shrimp fishery.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 23, 
2002.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Comprehensive SFA Amendment should 
be sent to Peter Eldridge, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 
Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702. Comments may also 
be sent via fax to 727-570-5583. Comments will not be accepted if 
submitted via e-mail or the Internet.
    Requests for copies of Amendment 5, which includes a final 
supplemental environmental impact statement, initial regulatory 
flexibility analysis, regulatory impact review, and a social impact 
assessment/fishery impact statement, should be sent to the South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Southpark Building, Suite 306, 1 
Southpark Circle, Charleston, South Carolina 29407-4699, Email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Eldridge, telephone: 727-570-
5305; fax: 727-570-5583; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The shrimp fishery off the Southern Atlantic 
States in the EEZ is managed under the FMP approved by NMFS, and 
implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act by regulations at 50 CFR part 622.
    In its preliminary qualitative analysis of Federally managed 
fisheries conducted in March 2001, NMFS classified the rock shrimp 
fishery off the southern Atlantic states as one of the fisheries where 
there are indications of over-capacity. With over-capacity and open 
access to the fishery, any gains in the health of the stocks would 
likely attract new entrants and an increase in harvesting capacity. 
Accordingly, Amendment 5 proposes a limited access program for the 
fishery off Georgia and the east coast of Florida. The intended effects 
are to minimize additional increases in harvesting capacity in the rock 
shrimp fishery; reduce the bycatch of small, unmarketable rock shrimp; 
enhance compliance with fishery management regulations; improve 
protection of essential fish habitat, including an area that contains 
the last 20 acres of intact Oculina coral remaining in the world; and 
ensure the long-term economic viability of the rock shrimp industry.
    The current requirement for a Federal vessel permit for the rock 
shrimp fishery remains in effect. However, in addition, to participate 
in the fishery off Georgia and the east coast of Florida, a limited 
access endorsement for South Atlantic rock shrimp would be required. 
Initially, NMFS would issue a limited access endorsement to the owner 
of a vessel that had a valid Federal permit for South Atlantic rock 
shrimp on or before December 31, 2000, and that had landings of at 
least 15,000 lb of rock shrimp from the South Atlantic EEZ during one 
of the calendar years 1996 through 2000. A vessel that had a Federal 
permit for South Atlantic rock shrimp would be determined solely from 
NMFS' permit records. Claimed landings would be verified from landings 
data in state or Federal database systems; the landings must have been 
submitted on or before January 31, 2001. For the purpose of initial 
eligibility for a limited access endorsement, the owner of a vessel 
that had a permit for rock shrimp during the qualifying period would 
retain the rock shrimp landings record of that vessel during the time 
of his/her ownership, unless a sale of the vessel included a written 
agreement that credit for qualifying landings was transferred to the 
new owner.
    An owner issued a limited access endorsement could request that the 
permit be transferred to another vessel or to another vessel owner by 
submitting an application for transfer to the Regional Administrator 
(RA). An owner must report any costs associated with such transfer on 
the application for transfer. A transfer of a limited access 
endorsement to a new owner would include the transfer of the vessel's 
entire catch history of South Atlantic rock shrimp to the new owner.
    The RA would not reissue a limited access endorsement for South 
Atlantic rock shrimp if the permit is revoked or if a required 
application for renewal of the permit is not received within 1 year 
after the permit's expiration date. Additionally, a limited access 
endorsement for rock shrimp that is inactive for a period of 4 
consecutive calendar years would not be renewed.
    Historically, the cod end mesh size commonly used in the rock 
shrimp fishery was 1 7/8 to 2 inches (4.76 to 5.08 cm) stretched mesh. 
Some fishermen are now using smaller mesh or are putting a bag liner 
inside the cod end. This results in the catch of juvenile rock shrimp, 
some of which are unmarketable and are discarded dead. This Amendment 
would establish a minimum mesh size for the cod end of 1 7/8 inches 
(4.76 cm) and prohibit the

[[Page 48604]]

use of smaller-mesh bag liners. This would allow escapement of juvenile 
rock shrimp. There is virtually no information available on either the 
extent of escapement of juvenile rock shrimp or on the quantity of 
other bycatch; thus, NMFS has initiated 100 days of observer coverage 
on this fishery to obtain such information. This information should be 
available for inspection in about a year.
    This Amendment would require the use of a NMFS-approved vessel 
monitoring system (VMS) by each vessel that has been issued a limited 
access endorsement for South Atlantic rock shrimp when such vessel is 
on a trip off the southern Atlantic states (North Carolina through the 
east coast of Florida). The VMS would consist of a mobile transmitting 
unit placed on each vessel and an associated communication service 
provider that supplies the link between the unit and NMFS. The VMS 
would advise NMFS when and where a vessel was fishing or had been 
fishing. Thus, it would provide effort data and would significantly aid 
in enforcement of areas closed to trawling, particularly the Oculina 
Bank habitat area of particular concern. There is a critical need to 
increase the level of surveillance in this area because it contains the 
last 20 acres of intact Oculina coral remaining in the world.
    NMFS would publish in the Federal Register a list of approved VMS 
mobile transmitting units and associated communications service 
providers that meet the minimum standards for the rock shrimp fishery. 
A vessel that has been issued a limited access endorsement for the 
South Atlantic rock shrimp fishery would be required to have an 
operating VMS commencing 270 days after the final rule implementing 
this amendment is published.
    To enhance enforcement of fishery regulations, the Amendment 
proposes to require operator permits in the South Atlantic rock shrimp 
fishery. ``Operator'' is defined as the master or other individual 
aboard and in charge of a vessel. Each vessel that has a Federal permit 
for the fishery would be required to have on board at least one person 
who has an operator permit when the vessel is at sea or offloading. In 
addition to penalties that currently exist for violations of the 
regulations, an operator permit could be sanctioned. For example, an 
operator whose permit is suspended, revoked, or modified pursuant to 
subpart D of 15 CFR part 904 would not be allowed aboard any vessel 
subject to Federal fishing regulations in any capacity, if so 
sanctioned by NOAA, while the vessel is at sea or offloading. To 
enhance enforceability of this measure, a vessel's owner and operator 
would be responsible for ensuring that a person with such suspended, 
revoked, or modified operator permit is not aboard his/her vessel. A 
list of operators whose permits are revoked, suspended, or modified 
would be readily available from the RA. In general, an operator permit 
would be valid for a period of 3 years, expiring at the end of the 
individual's birth month.
    Comments received by September 23, 2002, whether specifically 
directed to those management measures in Amendment 5 or to the proposed 
rule that NMFS plans to publish that would implement Amendment 5, will 
be considered by NMFS in its decision to approve, disapprove, or 
partially approve the proposed measures. Comments received after that 
date will not be considered by NMFS in this decision. All comments 
received by NMFS on Amendment 5 or the proposed rule during their 
respective comment periods will be addressed in the preamble of the 
final rule.

    Authority: Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: July 18, 2002.
Virginia M. Fay,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-18857 Filed 7-24-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S